Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.
The Rig
Yawning, Kaya rubbed at her eyes before returning to the task on hand. An early start meant all of us were moving slowly and talking quietly. Well… except for Aang, being a morning person. He was downright chipper as we packed and saddled Appa. It made sense to us to prepare Appa in the barn. That way the only chance someone would have of seeing him would be when we were already in the air. As Kaya rolled up our bed rolls, I worked on tying down the bags as Aang threw them up to me. Meanwhile, Katara was outside to fetch water for refilling our water skins. If there was enough left over, I might even allow us the time to wash our faces. The morning was calm and I was grateful for it. That was my mistake.
Katara raced into the barn. No water in sight. "They took him!" She yelled; snapping our attention to her. "Haru is gone. They took him!" Aang gasped as Kaya abandoned her task. Feeling too old for my bones, I climbed down from Appa's saddle. "His mom just told me. The old man, the one we saved, turned him in. Why would he do that?" Katara's hands pressed against her temple as she clutched at her hair. "It's my fault", she mourned. "If I hadn't- It's just… Earthbending shouldn't be a crime".
Approaching, I gave Katara the downward hand motion. Too bad that only works with Kaya. "Slow down", I asked. Once close enough, I grabbed Katara's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as my other hand rested behind her shoulders. "Tell us what happened".
Katara took a breath that made her shoulders rise and fall. With staff in hand, Aang joined us. Only Kaya remained still; watching and listening as she worried her bottom lip. "It was midnight. Haru's mom said… They just grabbed him!" I flinched. Hard enough that Katara could feel it. So, Haru ended up facing the same fate my people spared Katara from…
I let go and allowed my arms to hang loosely at my sides. Katara knew me well enough to know what that meant. "It's been too long. There's nothing we can do". Aang leaned some of his weight on his staff and frowned down at his feet.
"We have to do something", Katara disagreed; agitatedly gesturing with her hands. "Haru's in this mess because of us".
No, Haru was captured because you wouldn't leave him alone. But I'm not enough of a jerk to say that aloud. Instead, I avoided eye contact and rubbed the back of my neck. Guilt might be the worst feeling. It would be nice if Katara didn't have to know what that felt like. "He's too far to track".
"We don't need to track him", Katara insisted.
I kept going. "We don't know where the Fire Nation took him. Or how many of them we'd have to face. What good is a rescue mission if we end up getting caught?" This wasn't like in the South Pole when Aang and Kaya were taken from us. Then, we had nothing to lose by going after them. Now… to get caught meant handing Aang over to the Fire Lord and that was the exact opposite of what we set out to do.
Nostrils flaring, Katara placed her hands on her hips. At that moment, she looked so much like Mom it was scary. "We don't need to know where Haru is. What if we can rescue Haru without having to fight?"
What if polar bear dogs could fly? What if I could breathe underwater and swim upstream? La! Was she hearing herself? Aang took a more considerate approach. "What do you mean?" He asked; his voice even and trying to not take sides.
"The Fire Nation is arresting benders. If they see me bending, they'll take me straight to Haru". Katara explained.
No. I shook my head. No. Absolutely not! "It was too risky".
Katara glared at me. "Then you guys follow with Appa, and I'll meet you with Haru when we can".
She made it sound so simple! What if they took her to a different place than Haru? What if they kept prisoners separate from each other? We didn't know what the layout was of whatever place she'd be taken. If Katara did find Haru and managed to slip away, how would we know where to meet her? "We're not doing that!" It was alarming I even needed to say it.
Though Katara was already hardheaded like a rock. She might as well be an Earthbender with that stubbornness. "I'm rescuing Haru whether you help or not!" And she stormed off; hands clenched in fists and arms held tensely at her sides.
"Ugh", I groaned at her back; pulling at my hair in frustration. Was I the only sane person here? Aang stared at me; waiting for a decision. My eyes went back and forth between him and the barn door. What to do? "Ugh", I groaned again. This one sounding more pained. I mean, I know what I need to do. I just… don't want to.
When my dilemma wasn't quickly resolved, Aang shrugged in an attempt to be helpful. "Rescuing Haru would be the nice thing to do".
Letting go of my hair, I slouched and gave Aang my best-disgruntled expression. Damn it. "Kaya!" I called. "Don't forget your slingshot".
Katara's plan worked. There was some discussion if she really needed to fake Earthbending when she was a Waterbender. Would they see it as a criminal offense like Earthbending? But Katara wanted to play it safe. So, we used the ventilation shafts of a mine, staged a fight, and watched as my sister got taken away. "Time to follow", I said once Katara and the Fire Nation soldiers were a blur in the distance.
Aang nodded. "Right". He gave a thumbs-up before running for where we hid Appa in the tree line. Momo soared after him. Aang claimed this was fun. Like getting intentionally captured by monsters was something everyone needed to do at least once in their life.
Meanwhile, I tried to not plan my own funeral in my head. Dad asked me to do two things before he left. Look out for the village and protect my sister. Currently, I was not doing the first and failing at the second. Katara better make it through this.
Kaya popped up from her hiding spot; slingshot in hand and blue scarf in place. She joined me as we hurried to climb into Appa's saddle. Aang was already perched on Appa's head; reins in hand. "Stay far enough away that they can't see us, but close enough that we don't lose them. Can you do that?" I asked as Kaya and I took seats right behind Aang.
Peering over his shoulder with Momo only getting in the way a little bit, Aang grinned. "Easy". At least someone is confident.
As Appa began to move, Kaya looked at me. "I don't-" She said as we cleared the tree line. Pursing her lips, she looked up at the sky to try again. Kaya's thinking face was becoming as familiar to me as her confused one. I knew to wait. Luckily, we had time. With a lurch, Appa jumped into the air. Used to it by now, we held on and leaned forward until Appa was horizontal again. "What happening? Why it happening?"
Ah… right. Studying Kaya's face, I found a new problem. Not a big one. But it was there. All morning, bleeding into this afternoon, we'd been reacting. Planning and moving fast without pausing. All day, Kaya followed; watching, listening, hiding when told. How much did she figure out? How much did she pick up? What was Kaya thinking? All those questions summed up to one thing. I didn't know how to explain this.
"Aang?" I asked; making the bald kid turn his head in our direction; trusting he heard all that. "Any ideas?"
"Umm…" Kaya focused on Aang as he came up with something. "Katara's rescuing Haru. And we're rescuing Katara".
Kaya wrinkled her nose. "Why?" she asked again. I didn't know how to elaborate; thinking Aang had done better explaining than I could. Then Kaya shook her head. As if realizing that wasn't easily answered. She made eye contact with me. "Kaya don't like".
"I don't like this", I corrected. What exactly she didn't like was unclear. There was plenty to choose from.
Kaya repeated the correction back to me as Appa flew at a lazy speed above and behind the soldiers. "Katara didn't have to… leave". It wasn't the right word. But Kaya sounded like she already knew. "Stupid to leave with Fire Nation. Sokka say Fire Nation is bad".
She's not wrong. How many times had she heard me say something like that? It was the one thing that was probably the most obvious to her since we left home. The one group she heard everyone talk about as we traveled. The Fire Nation is our enemy.
We drew closer to the water. A ship appeared to be waiting for them. "It's okay, Kaya", Aang broke in. Pulling on the reins so Appa would hover a safe distance as we waited for the ship to load and depart. "I'm the Avatar. The Fire Nation won't hurt Katara on my watch".
His confidence didn't seem to work on Kaya. If anything, she seemed displeased. Like we weren't hearing what she wanted us to. "What is Avatar?" Kaya asked; looking at both of us for an answer. Having heard stories about the Avatar and the Avatar cycle my whole life, I didn't know how to describe it to someone who didn't. Aang seemed to be in a similar boat. Reincarnation and the master of all four elements weren't going to be something easily discussed. Shaking my head to show I couldn't explain it right now, I felt Kaya's frustration. It must be hard being the only person in the world who spoke a different language.
It was a prison made entirely of metal; floating in the ocean an unswimmable distance to land. Kind of ingenious, I begrudgingly admitted. Earthbenders couldn't fight back surrounded by steel and water. We waited for the coverage of the night before approaching. Using the last of the daylight to plan, and rest, and plan some more. "How are you going to find Katara?" I asked Aang when he declared he'd be the one to enter the floating prison. It made sense. With Airbending, he could be over the guards' heads before they saw him. All I could do was duck behind objects and hope for the best.
"Don't worry about it", Aang said. He'd been saying the same thing this whole day. "I can find her".
"That's not what I'm asking", I argued. It was like Aang was purposely ignoring the word 'how' in all my questions. As if a way would magically present itself to him. Some Avatar he's turning out to be. But, as we pulled up alongside the rig, I had to trust him. There was no other way I could think to get Katara back. And leaving her was not an option. It would never be an option.
"Be back soon", Aang promised as he dropped Appa's reins and floated over the railing of the prison. For some reason, Momo followed him.
"Remember, if we're not here when you get back that means some guards walked by". I whispered as Kaya studied the metal structure as if it were going to come alive and attack us at any moment. "Hide. We'll circle back around when we can".
Nodding, Aang scurried off; blending in with shadows and avoiding the light provided by lanterns hung on posts as Momo clung to his clothing.
Sighing, I rolled my shoulders; trying to get them to loosen up. Is this how Dad felt before a battle? I used to think it would be exciting. Now… I just feel stupid for believing it to be. "Do you have your slingshot ready?" I asked Kaya as she sat close to me.
The yellow-haired girl nodded; holding it up even though it was hard to see in the dark.
"Use it if you have to. Don't wait", I instructed; praying these were all words Kaya knew. "Slingshots are better when there's distance between you and the enemy. Don't let anyone get close". Kaya tilted her head to the side; the action nearly hidden by the folds of her scarf. Her lips pressed together in a flat line as she stared at me. Did she miss some of that? Or did she think all of it was obvious? Sometimes, with her, it's hard to tell.
The guards came once. So, Appa flew us around the prison. When we came back to the meeting point, Aang and Katara popped out of hiding and approached on silent feet. "Your time is up", I whispered; feeling like a great weight had been lifted off me at the sight of my sister. She was dressed in a brown sack-like material. Her water-tribe colors were gone. All of us had at least one change of clothes. So, Katara wouldn't have to look like an escaped prisoner the whole time. But we'd have to see about finding Katara a replacement. "Where's Haru? It's time to go".
Katara shook her head. Aang didn't seem surprised. "Not yet".
"Katara", I panicked in a harsh whisper. She can't be doing this. "There are guards everywhere. We can't stay. And I can't leave you". Why couldn't she understand that?
"We have to stay", Katara whispered as loud as she did. "This place is terrible and these people…" Katara trailed off to stare mournfully at the metal ground. "They need us to give them a chance. They're too tired to take one for themselves".
Nope. Not happening. "That wasn't our deal", I said. "You promised just a few hours of trying to rescue Haru and then we'd leave. We didn't agree to save every Earthbender on this rig". We were just four people and a lemur. What did Katara think we could do?
"We can help them", Katara insisted. Good to know her word means nothing. I'll keep that in mind for the future. If we have a future. "There has to be a way we can help".
Aang, Mr. 'It's fun to break into Fire Nation Prisons', was too easy to convince. "Maybe Katara's right", he argued in her favor. "You guys saved me from the Fire Nation. How hard could it be to free a bunch of Earthbenders? What do you say, Sokka?"
"You're crazy. Both of you. That's what I say". Some spit flew out of my mouth. Zuko's ship didn't have nearly as many people as this rig. And we were still at home when we got Kaya and Aang off his ship. Meaning we knew the waters and… and… A spotlight starts to circle; heading in our direction. Aang and Katara ducked as Kaya and I lay flat on Appa's saddle. "It's time to go", I repeated once the light passed and we could pick up our heads.
"No!" Katara said at a normal volume. She wasn't budging.
Groaning, I shook my head. "You're impossible". But Katara didn't seem to care. Feeling as if somehow I'd be blamed for this down the line, I shimmied to the edge of the saddle until I was able to climb onto the rig. "Fine", I snarled at my sister. Only to become annoyed when she and Aang grinned. "But note that this is a terrible idea". Knowing we only had a few seconds, I turned back to Kaya. She sat up straight; expression startled as she held a hand stretched out towards me. As if she meant to grab me before I left Appa's saddle. "Stay with Appa", I told her. Kaya shook her head. "Maybe he can fly you back to Gran-gran if we don't make it out".
"Nothing's going to happen to us", Aang said as Katara glared at me. Taking a half step forward, Aang squatted by Appa's head. "Go hide, buddy. We'll see you tomorrow".
The bison gave a soft rumble as he started to move. I stared at Kaya; her face even paler than normal as unease filled her eyes and showed up on her open-mouthed expression. With Katara deviating from the original plan, there wasn't time to explain things to Kaya. And her only weapon was a slingshot. What good would that due in close quarters like a prison? This was the best option for the yellow-haired girl. Even if she didn't like it. It was also the best option for me. If Kaya was safe with Appa, then it was only Katara I'd have to worry about and then maybe I wouldn't get distracted from whatever lies ahead.
Before Appa was too far away from the railing of the rig, Kaya lurched; sprung forward by her feet pushing off from under her. "No", I whispered as Kaya left Appa's saddle. She grasped onto the railing and started pulling herself up. Breath caught in my throat, I lunged. Aang had a similar idea. I gripped Kaya's left arm, Aang her right, and together we pulled Kaya over to our side. "Are you trying to scare me to death?" I demanded to know; shaking Kaya a little. The yellow-haired girl glared at me. It was a glare that could rival Katara's. The novelty of it on Kaya's face had me backing down. "Aang", I turned to him instead. "Call Appa back".
Aang shook his head. "There's no time". And unfortunately, he was right. Off in the distance, I could see guards approaching by the light of their lanterns. "Come on, we better hide".
The four of us scurried away finding refuge behind a stack of wooden crates. In the dark we held our breaths; not daring to move until the guards passed and the light of their lantern became impossible to see. "Kaya", I turned to the yellow-haired girl. "Why did you do that? You said you didn't like this. You didn't have to be here". I grabbed ahold of her shoulders in each of my hands and shook her.
"Kaya don't like this", she confirmed; shrugging my hands off her. "But Kaya stay with family".
Momo peeped over the wooden crates; ears hung low as I gaped at Kaya. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. "Good idea", Aang said as he gave Kaya a thumbs-up; pleased with her wording. "Families should stick together". Kaya's eyes didn't soften as she flashed a glance over in Aang's direction.
Nice to see I wasn't the only person she wasn't impressed with. But, still… "You used to listen to me", I complained. "You need to listen to me".
The skin between Kaya's eyebrows wrinkled. "I listen. But Kaya…" Kaya tapped her head. "Kaya do that too". I think she wanted to say thinking. She thinks too. "This stupid. Stupid to be… one". Alone? Maybe she meant alone. "Stay with family".
Tearing my eyes from Kaya, I looked at the others. "Anyone get that?"
Katara sighed. "We don't have time for this. We need a plan".
And the conversation changed. Which it probably needed to. This was the first I… any of us had ever seen Kaya angry. Scared, sad, frustrated; sure. Those emotions had been present before. But Kaya was normally all smiles. Seeing her like this was…. well, we couldn't deal with it on a prison rig.
"What's the one thing all prison breaks need?" Aang asked as he thought with his chin tucked down. "Keys", he answered after a few moments.
Katara shook her head. "This isn't that type of prison". Because she knew so much about prison. "The problem is the water. That's what's keeping these people stuck here".
But Aang wasn't willing to let his idea of a prison break go. "I wish I knew how to make a hurricane", he said aloud as Kaya continued to fume from behind my shoulder. "Then the warden would have to run away and we'd be able to take his keys!"
That… made no sense. "Wouldn't the key be on him when he ran away?" I asked.
Aang shrugged; still acting like this was a fun outing. "Just brainstorming". Momo left his look-out perch to circle around Aang's shoulders.
"I tried talking to the Earthbenders", Katara moved on; hurricane forgotten. "If they would just stand up for themselves, I believe they would be able to escape. But they're not even willing to try".
I raised an eyebrow. She's missing a pretty important fact. "If you want Earthbenders to fight Firebenders, they need to have some kind of earth. They can't fight if they can't bend. For that, they'd need some kind of earth or some rock. Something they can bend. And except for Kaya's slingshot rocks, this whole place is metal. Katara, I think they were right".
Disheartened, Katara frowned. "No, it's not", Aang said like he realized something we didn't. Katara perked up. "It's not all metal. Look!" Aang pointed to a smoke stack we could barely see from behind the crates. "They have to burn coal to keep this place working. It's just like Haru's mom said. The Fire Nation needs coal to run its ships. And coal is earth. It's bendable!"
"Okay", I said as a plan started forming in my head. "So we need to figure out how we can get the coal to the Earthbenders".
It was a sleepless night. We needed to understand this rig if our plan was going to work. Our night was spent scouting and working out fine details. The whole night, Kaya followed us; watching our backs with her slingshot ready and Momo napping against her neck in the folds of her scarf. She didn't say another word all night. And her unhappy frown never left her face. As morning arrived, I tried not to dwell on it. Kaya may not be able to yell at me like Katara could. But we'd find a way to work it out after this was all over. If there was an after.
"It's almost dawn", Katara said as she, myself, and Kaya crouched by an air vent. "You sure this will work?" For the first time, Katara sounded nervous. Good. That meant she realized how serious our position was. I'm not sure Aang did.
"Yeah", I answered. "It's just like how we faked Earthbending to get you arrested. The whole ventilation system is connected to where they are burning coal. Aang closed all the vents except this one. With Airbending, he'll be able to send the coal here; the prison yard", Kaya grabbed my sleeve and tugged. I waved her off. "And then we'll have armed Earthbenders". Another tug. "The real question is if your Earthbenders will fight".
A twanging sound and a pained cry broke Katara's and my focus. Our heads snapped up. Kaya stood in front of us. Her slingshot was held in front of her with the sling part slack. Her free hand dug into her hip pouch; pulling out another stone. In front of her stood a guard; spear in hand and rubbing an angry red mark on his forehead. The one place on his head his helmet didn't cover. Not good. I gulped.
"Intruders!" The guard cried before Kaya could let another stone fly. Not that it stayed in her hand for long. A second stone sailed through the air and smacked into the guard's hand. Making him change his spear to his other hand as he tried to shake the pain away.
That was all we were allowed to do. Suddenly, we were surrounded. Guards faced our every side; poking spears in our direction. Only then did I notice the imprisoned Earthbenders standing at a distance behind the guards. They watched like a domesticated herd; their eyes dim. "Stay back", I feigned confidence; pulling out my boomerang and getting into position with Katara. "If you know what's good for you, you won't come any closer!" I gestured for Kaya to move closer. She didn't. Instead, the yellow-haired girl released a third stone. This one pegged a guard right in the eye. The man staggered backward; dropping his spear and clutching at his eye. Despite being one down, the guards didn't attack; though they were fidgeting to do so".
"Katara", a graying man in prisoner garb pleaded. "Please don't do this. You will not win".
"You should listen, child", another old man; this one dressed in Fire Nation armor stepped up behind his guards; hands held behind his back as if he had nothing to fear. He must be the warden.
Kaya locked eyes on him. She reached for a fourth stone. The guard closest to her jabbed his spear in her direction. "No", I called. Kaya dodged. But it was close. Less than an inch. She didn't reach for another stone.
The warden smiled. "One more mistake and you'll be disposed of".
My hand shook. There were too many of them. I couldn't see a way I could get both girls past them. Maybe if Appa came and sat on them all. But that was a big if. Any action from either them or us was cut off by a sudden rush of air that roared in our ears and made the rig shudder. As if waiting for the last possible moment, the grid on the ventilation shaft burst into the air; its hinges snapped as coal gushed out like a geyser.
Then, like a tidal wave, the coal crashed down onto the metal ground and spread out. Some of it neared the feet of the imprisoned Earthbenders. Silence takes over the prison. The arrival of the coal was unexpected enough that no one knew what to think. Giving Aang an opening to make an entrance. He leaped out of the shaft; following after the coal and allowing the air to carry him. His feet carried him steadily as he came to stand on top of the mound of coal. But it wasn't an impressive sight. Coal dust covered his person and got into his lungs which he tried to cough up. Momo flying out of the shaft after him wasn't intimidating either.
Katara moved before anyone else could. She scrambled up the coal mound to stand next to Aang; picking up a piece of coal as she went and holding it above her head. With the guards' attention on her, I inched closer to Kaya. If she was going to use that slingshot, we needed to get distance between her and the guards as soon as possible.
"Earthbenders!" Katara cried. "You can do this! Take this coal and teach the Fire Nation a lesson. No one can take bending away from the Earth Kingdom!"
Silence. No one moved as everyone waited to see what someone else would do. The warden laughed. He laughed so hard, I thought it was an act. "Foolish girl", he sneered. Kaya reached for a fourth stone. "Look at their faces. These Earthbenders were tamed a long time ago. They'll never rise up. They'll-"
A stone smacked the warden in the forehead; leaving behind an angry imprint that was sure to bruise by tomorrow. Whatever the warden was going to say fell from his lips as he glowered instead; searching for the source of the attack.
Others were looking around to do the same. I didn't need to. I knew. Kaya stood tall next to me. Her slingshot raised and the sling bounced having just been released. "Kaya", I hissed. Begging for her to lower her arm to make it less obvious. She didn't. Instead, Kaya was reaching for stone number five.
The warden's eyes found her a moment later. "Another girl stupid enough to think she can defeat us". Kaya glared back at him. Nostrils flared in anger. "Kill the intruders", the warden ordered. "This is a teachable moment for the others".
No…. I shook my head even though that wouldn't do anything. My grip on my boomerang tightened. We would have to fight where we were greatly outnumbered. I… I failed them. I failed Dad. The guards inched forward; spears held at the ready. There wasn't time for Kaya to reach for another stone. The warden looked on with a menacing glee.
Though it didn't last. A single piece of coal flew and pelted the warden from behind. Furious, the warden turned to find the source. "Who's responsible?" he demanded to know. Lucky for us, his cry stilled the guards. As they wanted to know too.
Haru stood apart from the rest of the prisoners. Circulating above his hand, three pieces of coal levitated. The determined downturn of his lips gave me hope. Come on, Earthbenders! Bend that coal!
Like a toddler who didn't get his way, the warden stamped his foot and sent a blast of fire in Haru's direction. Too much for three pieces of coal to stop. But Haru was safe. A wall of coal shifted up to protect him as the old prisoner moved behind him.
The guards began to shift away from us as Aang and Katara hurried off the mound of coal they stood upon; realizing the Earthbenders would be needing it. Momo followed. I took a breath as the warden steamed. "No mercy", he warned as the guards got into position. "No leniency. This will not be tolerated!"
Those who could Firebend started sending blasts of fire at the prisoners. The old prisoner blocked one of them. "For the sake of all future benders", he yelled to his people. "No forgiveness. Attack!"
And the battle was taking place. Coal flew. Guards fell. Prisoners dodged blasts of fire and gasped in agony when they weren't quick enough. There wasn't much I could do about the benders. But I knew my way around spears. Charging forward as Kaya backed away, I swung my boomerang and snapped off the top of a jabbed spear. My boomerang never left my hand. Momo flew above us and collected the broken spearheads with his clawed feet as Katara and Aang followed my example.
From behind us, Kaya let loose more stones. Hitting guards before they could come too close and giving us time to make their weapons useless. When she ran out of stones, she switched to little pieces of coal she found not in use by the Earthbenders. Somewhere along the way, her scarf slipped off her head. Not that it mattered in the heat of battle. There was too much going on for anyone to ask about the strange hair color.
With the combined effort of multiple Earthbenders, a hole was made in the prison's wall. "Get to the ship", the old prisoner yelled to the others. "We're going home!"
"No", the warden panicked as I snapped another spear. "Don't let them escape! This prison cannot fall".
His words had no impact. Because Aang figured out how to make a hurricane after all. With a swirling air tunnel acting like a cannon, Aang had us feed coal through it. It was a suggestion, Katara and I were happy to help with. As we pelted the Fire Nation with coal via Aang's hurricane, Kaya caught up. She stood behind us; watching as the guards fell out of their offensive stances and the prisoners escaped through the hole.
Three Earthbenders, Haru, the old prisoner, and one other remained. Together, they bended the coal to push the last of the Fire Nation off the rig. "No, wait!" the warden begged. "I can't swim".
We didn't care.